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Based on a 'Glee' or musical drama club called New directions,
run by inspiring teacher Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) and their
attempts for national glory, it is a lot of fun, with convoluted
romantic entanglements and an evil cheerleading coach - Sue Sylvester,
played by Jane Lynch - who is a mistress of the putdown.

It manages to be both
extremely silly and heart-warming; never more so than in this week's
season finale when single mum Quinn reunites with her estranged mother
and Finn tells Rachel he loves her.

Although it has a High School Musical feel to it, its grown-up themes
mean that in the U.S. it was the most popular new show for the 18-45
demographic.

It's become a similar sensation in the UK.

Its
success also lies on its use of music and inspired versions of old
hits.

An entire episode was devoted to Madonna and was
labelled by the Queen of Pop as 'brilliant on every level'.

A
Lady Gaga episode had the singer in raptures, describing it as 'just so
amazing', and she is due to star in the show as herself later this
year.

Out take

Jennifer Lopez and Susan Boyle are both being lined
up to appear in the next Christmas edition of the show

Olivia Newton-John and American singer-songwriter Josh Groban
parodied themselves several times in the show; most notably in the
finale on Channel 4 tonight, in which they vote against New directions
in the regional finals for not singing their songs.

In an age of
new media, fans are not confined to just watching the show.

There
have been four albums in eight months - and a fifth, Glee: The Music,
Journey To Regionals came out on Monday.

In the UK alone, there
has barely been a week where at least one Glee album has not been in the
Top Ten and the cast has combined UK sales of 600,000 copies.

UK
fans have also downloaded 1.5 million tracks, while worldwide they have
sold seven million albums.

The success of the show has been so
sudden that the usual marketing was not in place.

But coming
up are more Dvds, books, clothing lines, puzzles, mugs and Wii games.

Glee's success is down to the fact it can be enjoyed by grown-ups and
older children alike, who can sit on the sofa and watch it together as
family.

Inspiring: Matthew Morrison plays Glee club
teacher Will Schuester

President Obama invited the cast to perform at a children's party at
the White House, and Wayne Rooney says the show is relaxing.

So
are these former outcasts enjoying their new fame? Oh yes!

'It
has almost felt like we are our own little Glee club, but it has taken
us all the way to Oprah and the White House,' says Kevin. 'It's insane.'

And one of the most satisfying things has been to turn their
backs on the high-school bullies who made their own schooldays so
miserable.

'I get all these people trying to get hold of me on
Facebook writing: "Do you remember when we blah, blah, blah," says
Chris.

'No. Because we never did. I couldn't respond without
swearing.'

Kevin agrees: 'There are so many people who have tried
to get in touch. We really didn't get along and now they want to be my
"friend" on Facebook.

'It's so nice to click "ignore" to
these requests.'

What makes the show modern - especially in the
more conservative America - is the way it has made things that were
formerly unacceptable simply accepted.

Chris plays one of the
first openly gay teenagers on mainstream television; lead diva Rachel
Berry (Lea Michele) has two adopted gay fathers; the cheerleading
president of the celibacy club Quinn (dianna Agron) is pregnant; and
Artie is in a wheelchair.

In real-life, Kevin, who plays the
nerdy Artie, was once in a boyband and, although he retains his Buddy
Holly glasses, his quiffed hair gives him instant cool - and he can
actually walk.

He says of his role: 'On any other show it would
be 11 kids and a kid in a wheelchair, but in Glee it is just about 12
kids. I think the show is very brave.

'We point out stuff
that others wouldn't, but we don't make a big deal of it.'

The
next series is set to be even more controversial. The Glee group is to
get a Christian member who producers have hinted will be gently mocked -
as all the characters are - while Kurt is to get a boyfriend.

Chris
looks pained at the idea of being a gay role model.

According
to rumours, the 20-year-old actor has been told to play down his own
sexuality (although he has admitted being gay, it is alleged makers Fox
wanted him to go back into the closet).

He squirms in his
seat at the idea of the storyline that producers have already announced.
'I have just asked that I be the better-looking one, so I am not the
weakest link.

'I'm not sure we could have a gay kiss. A lot of
conservative minds watch our show.'

Famous faces: Olivia Newton-John and Josh Groban
have both appeared in the show twice

Of all the actors, Chris is the most like his character and producers
actually created the role for him after he auditioned for Artie.

They
also recreated a storyline from his own schooldays when he was banned
from singing Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked! because it was
'only for women'.

Although Kurt the character is tarter, more
fashion savvy and more confident than his alter ego, you can see where
the producers found him in Chris.

'More and more our real
personalities are coming out in the show,' says Amber, who was rejected
for American Idol before winning her Glee role.

'I think
Mercedes is the younger version of me. But she says the things I would
want to say, and gets away with it. I would love to do that.'

Jenna,
24, has an acting career that goes back to Sesame Street at the age of
three, and includes several Broadway roles.

Like her screen
character Tina, she is the quietest of the bunch and says: 'There is
definitely some aggression in me that comes out through Tina, but would
never come out through me.'

Kevin adds: 'The characters are like
exaggerated versions of ourselves. One thing is for sure - we all love
to sing.'

As for the rumours that Lea is as diva-ish as her
demanding character Rachel, the group are surprisingly quiet.

The
23-year-old actress, who was a veteran of several Broadway productions
before Glee, is rumoured to have two assistants on set and to refuse to
talk to underlings.

These are the sort of rumours that
normally surround any starring diva, but she got caught out in a very
public way when she snapped at a Time magazine photographer who asked
her name.

Tight-lipped: The cast members refused to
confirm or deny rumours of diva-like behaviour from their co-star Lea

So what's she really like? The four exchange glances before they
talk over each other to sit on the fence.

'We don't feed into
that gossip,' says Amber. 'People are going to believe what they want to
believe.'

Kevin: 'We think the rumours are funny.'

Chris:
'We are not going to confirm or deny.'

Jenna: ' Just rumours . .
.'

But they all say that long working days - an average of 12 to
18 hours - can lead to tension.

Kevin says: 'Thank God we
know nothing else. We have eight days to make an episode, but while
we're doing Episode Two we're rehearsing for Episode Three and getting
the songs we are going to be doing in Episode Four.

'It's
organised chaos. Fridays are the longest - we call them Fraturdays, as
they always run into Saturday.

'And then at weekends we do press
and photoshoots. When we get tired, we snap. But we're like brothers and
sisters, we know when to stay away from each other.'

There are
also rumours of romance on set, with Lea being linked to both Matthew
Morrison, who plays teacher Will Schuester, and Cory Monteith, who plays
heart-throb Finn.

Meanwhile, Kevin and Jenna just giggle
when asked about their alleged off-screen romance, saying: 'We're like
family.'

But things are about to getting a little more intense
for this family.

The Glee club is given a stay of execution in
the final episode - which is lucky, as Fox has already made the unusual
step of announcing it is commissioning two more series (normally only
one series is commissioned at a time).

The cast, who have just
finished a short tour of the U.S., are now promoting the show around the
world before going back to Los Angeles to start their 18-hour days all
over again.

'It's hard work, but it sure beats staying at home
doing nothing but dreaming,' says Amber as she lets out another roar of
laughter.

• Glee: The Music, Journey To Regionals is out on CD
and download on Epic Records. Glee: Road To Sectionals is available on
Dvd, and Glee The Season Finale is on Channel 4 tonight at 8.35pm.

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